But most of our views on relationships take us in a completely opposite direction. Many believe emotions are something we should control, not express. They tell us that too much emotion is the basic problem in most marriages.

According to Johnson, you must "recognize and admit that you are emotionally attached to and dependent on your partner in much the same way that a child is on a parent for nurturing, soothing and protection."

Imagine this: your loved one lives in another city and you want to tell him or her how important they are to you. So you pick up the phone and begin to communicate your love. However, after minutes of getting no response, you realize your error.

Likewise in our relationships, if we aren't emotionally connected, no amount of good communication is going to bring us the love we want. Further, we can connect with someone but if we are only communicating our anger, blame, judgment, ridicule, etc., it isn't likely to improve our relationships.

Although both men and women can be moved by fear, women are more vulnerable to fear and react more strongly. Research shows that baby girls, from the day they are born, are more sensitive to isolation and lack of contact.

This sensitivity evolved as an important survival mechanism to protect vulnerable females and keep them in contact with those that could keep them from harm. Think of a female in our evolutionary past who needed the protection of the group in order to keep her alive and well.

A female's primary need is to be cherished. From the moment of birth until the day she dies she needs to feel that a "special someone" will protect and care for her and no other. Whenever this connection is threatened she feels anxiety and fear.

"Over the millennia, females developed a kind of internal GPS that keeps them aware of closeness and distance in all their relationships," say Patricia Love and Steven Stosny, authors of How To Improve Your Marriage Without Talking About It. "When a woman feels close she can relax; when she feels distant, she gets anxious."

4. You shame him/her.

Although the human egg is microscopic, it is large enough to house 250 thousand sperm. Eggs weigh 85 thousand times as much as sperm.Think how you'd feel if you had to merge with someone who is 85 thousand times heavier than you?

Now, think of the competition involved in mating. There are 50 million to 5 hundred million sperm per ejaculation. How would you feel competing against those numbers for the prized egg?

Since it is the female that carries the egg, males are the ones who have to compete with each other in order to be chosen by the female. Sexual competition is a replay of fertilization itself. Numerous males, like small, hyperactive sperm, compete among themselves for access to females.

Males often remember, with a great deal of shame, walking across a room and asking the "cute" girl to dance, only to be turned down and having to walk back to his seat feeling that all eyes are on him and people are saying to themselves, "loser, loser, loser." This is the essence of male shame.

We are always in competition with other males to be chosen by a female who can trigger our feelings of insufficiency and inadequacy with a casual shake of her head. And our shame deepens as others witness our retreat.

Can you imagine how you would feel if you were forced to compete your whole life and had hundreds and hundreds of small and large rejections, many of them crushing?

Women, of course, have their own issues to deal with, but see if you can let yourself feel the shame that haunts men.

A man's basic need is for respect, just as a woman's basic need is to be cherished. He needs to feel like a winner, that he can beat the competition and be the chosen one. From the time he is born until the day he dies, he is vulnerable to shame and loss of face.

5. You unintentionally trigger each other.

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Here's an experience many people have had that can serve to introduce us to this critically important topic.

A man and his wife are in the car together on their way to visit family for the holidays. As he drives around a curve, the wife suddenly puts her hand on the dashboard to brace herself. He gives her a hostile look, clenches his jaw and turns back to the road. Within minutes they get into a fight about some inconsequential issue that neither can remember.

What happened?

Both are a bit on edge as the drive begins since it is holiday time and they are visiting family. When the man drives through the curve, the wheels hit the divider bumps briefly. The woman is startled and she feels a jolt of fear. She braces herself — a reflexive attempt to protect herself.

The man does not realize she is afraid. Instead, he interprets her reaction as a judgment of his driving and his ability to protect her from harm. He has a jolt of shame. In an attempt to protect himself from feeling inadequate, he gets angry. His anger triggers more fear in his wife, which triggers more shame in him.

Further, he is not only ashamed, but he is ashamed of being ashamed. As a result he blocks the shame from his awareness and focuses instead on something he imagines his wife did or didn't do. His wife may be more aware of her fear, but may also deny her fear to herself, thinking, "He's a really good driver, I don't have to worry."

All of this goes on in a matter of seconds and is out of the awareness of both partners. But the result is that they both act as though they were engaged in a life or death struggle over something that is so inconsequential they can't believe it is causing them to "lose it" with each other.

6. You never talk things out.

When problems arise in a relationship, the best thing to do is talk it out. Most everyone, including therapists, believe that talking through a problem is essential for solving an issue and improving a relationship. However, most men resist talking like the plague.

For men, the five most horrible words in the English language are, "Honey, we need to talk." The words can be said with anger or with love, with disdain or compassion, with despair or with hope.

It seems no matter how they are presented, they are met with a resistance bordering on terror by most men. Why should a woman's desire to talk be met with such opposition?

When a woman wants to talk to a man about things that are bothering her about their relationship, she is seeking to overcome her fears of disconnection. However, he interprets her unhappiness as a judgment of his competence as a male provider and protector.

The man will often think to himself, "Here we go again, she wants to tell me what I'm doing wrong. I feel like a failure. I can't do anything right and nothing I do can please this woman."

Rarely, does a woman say, "Honey, we need to talk! It's just been way too long since I told you how wonderful you are. You satisfy me in ways I've longed for all my life. You're the best."

7.You live in constant fear.

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It may not be evident at the moment, but one of men's strongest desires is to protect and serve the person he loves. When you're afraid, he judges himself as a poor protector. His shame levels go up and he usually gets more irritable and angry.

Most women have no intention of shaming or demeaning their man, but as I noted earlier, it often occurs as women become more anxious, frightened and insecure. To demean means to lower in dignity, honor or standing. Just as men are surprised at things that cause women to be afraid, women are often surprised at things that increase men's shame.

A few ways that author Pat Love noticed she had shamed the man in her life: excluding him from important decisions, robbing him of the opportunity to help, correcting what he said, questioning his judgment, giving unsolicited advice, ignoring his needs, etc.

"He's mean, he's inconsiderate, he's angry all the time, he's withdrawn, he doesn't love me." Most women I talk with want to help get the "mean" out of their man. They want to "de-mean" him, but end up "demeaning" him.

Focus on the positive: from Mr. Mean to Mr. Wonderful. Focus your attention on the ways he has been, or you would like him to be, wonderful.

If you want Mr. Wonderful, look for all the ways — small ones and large ones — in which your man is wonderful. Keep a journal of all the good stuff and read it when you are feeling afraid.

10. You bring out the worst in him.

It's relatively easy to be your best when you are getting the best from your partner. It's a lot more difficult when you are getting a lot of irritability, anger, judgment, silence, etc.

Here's an exercise that can help: write down the things that are best about you as a person, then jot down what's best about you as a partner.

Most women wouldn't write they are their best when they are fearful, angry, nagging, blaming, shaming, etc. They are at their best when they are honest, compassionate, courageous, accepting and optimistic.

For years my wife and I have used a "love letter" process we learned from John Gray. When you're feeling a lot of negative emotions in your life, write a letter to the person who seems to be triggering them. You're not going to give it to the person so use whatever language best conveys your feelings.

Start with "Dear [insert name of your spouse here]," then write down any hurt and pain you are feeling. Next, write down any anger or irritation you feel. Go on to write things that trigger your anxiety and fear. Continue with the things that cause you to feel guilt and shame. Finally, write about your love and understanding.

Most of us either deny our feelings or we get stuck on one level or another. We get locked up in our hurt or our anger. This allows you to express the whole range of your emotions in a safe way. People tell me they always feel better after writing one.

Let me close by saying that I'm not suggesting talking with your partner will always trigger shame or you should never talk. I am saying there are a lot of ways we can heal, even when our partner does not want to "talk about it."

You'll find as you act on these practices more and talk less, the emotional climate will thaw out and you'll be able to talk without triggering more fear and shame.